Ex-Barcelona player wants to BUY LaLiga club weeks after leaving them according to shock reports in Spain

Former Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite is reportedly planning to buy LaLiga side Espanyol just one month after terminating his contract with the club.

After spending three seasons at Barcelona, Braithwaite joined the Blanquiazules in September 2022 and was the club's top scorer as they secured promotion back to the top flight at the first time of asking last season.

Despite a return to LaLiga looming, the Dane then executed a release clause in his contract to allow him to leave on a free transfer amid increasingly sour relations with the club's board.

Shortly after the former Middlesbrough star agreed to join Brazilian side Gremio, the eighth club of his senior career.

However, despite departing the Catalan club in abrupt circumstances, Braithwaite's association with Espanyol may not be over yet.

According to Spanish outlet Marca, the 33-year-old is considering a bid to purchase a controlling stake in his former club.

In addition to his earnings from his well-travelled sporting career, Brathwaite's business ventures has become one of the richest men in football.

The ex-Denmark international has invested heavily in property in the US and holds a partnership stake in NYCE Companies that is said to have rocketed his net worth to an eye-watering £224.6million.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2021 Braithwaite discussed his business philosophy.

'I always had this American side,' he said. 'I think maybe that's why my mindset is maybe more American: dreaming big, doing amazing things, writing goals down."